Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

A Spiral Workbook For Discrete Mathematics 2nd Edition, Harris Kwong

Milne Open Textbooks

This updated text covers the standard topics in a sophomore-level course in discrete mathematics: logic, sets, proof techniques, basic number theory, functions, relations, and elementary combinatorics, with an emphasis on motivation. It explains and clarifies the unwritten conventions in mathematics, and guides the students through a detailed discussion on how a proof is revised from its draft to a final polished form. Hands-on exercises help students understand a concept soon after learning it. The text adopts a spiral approach: many topics are revisited multiple times, sometimes from a different perspective or at a higher level of complexity. The goal is …

Differential Calculus: From Practice To Theory, Eugene Boman, Robert Rogers

Milne Open Textbooks

Differential Calculus: From Practice to Theory covers all of the topics in a typical first course in differential calculus. Initially it focuses on using calculus as a problem solving tool (in conjunction with analytic geometry and trigonometry) by exploiting an informal understanding of differentials (infinitesimals). As much as possible large, interesting, and important historical problems (the motion of falling bodies and trajectories, the shape of hanging chains, the Witch of Agnesi) are used to develop key ideas. Only after skill with the computational tools of calculus has been developed is the question of rigor seriously broached. At that point, the …

Strong Homotopy Lie Algebras And Hypergraphs, Samuel J. Bevins, Marco Aldi

Undergraduate Research Posters

We study hypergraphs by attaching a nilpotent strong homotopy Lie algebra. We especially focus on hypergraph theoretic information that is encoded in the cohomology of the resulting strong homotopy Lie algebra.

Introduction To Mathematical Analysis I - 3rd Edition, Beatriz Lafferriere, Gerardo Lafferriere, Mau Nam Nguyen

PDXOpen: Open Educational Resources

Video lectures explaining problem solving strategies are available

Our goal in this set of lecture notes is to provide students with a strong foundation in mathematical analysis. Such a foundation is crucial for future study of deeper topics of analysis. Students should be familiar with most of the concepts presented here after completing the calculus sequence. However, these concepts will be reinforced through rigorous proofs.

The lecture notes contain topics of real analysis usually covered in a 10-week course: the completeness axiom, sequences and convergence, continuity, and differentiation. In addition, the notes include many carefully selected exercises of various levels …

Reframing The Achievement Gap In Mathematics Education, Madeline Pavolovich '22

Posters

Much of math education research focuses on a so-called “achievement gap” measured by test scores and similar quantitative measures of “success.” By framing issues of equity in this way, methods to remedy the gap often require subordinated groups to become more like the “higher achieving” group. In other areas of study, we have been quicker to incorporate sociopolitical lenses into teaching and learning with an emphasis on identity and power. Such a sociopolitical turn could help us rethink what it means for math education to be truly equitable.

Bail Reform, Matthew Shang '22

Posters

The Public Safety Assessment (PSA) to assess the likelihood of pretrial risk. Then, the information is used to decide the conditions of release, including components like bail. The factors used are related only to age and criminal history. In short, the algorithm helps judges make more informed decisions.

Gender Discrimination In Ai, Nicole Papert '22

Posters

There are several studies revealing that AI tools used in job search applications and sites will promote different opportunities depending on the gender of the user. Specifically, men are typically shown more competitive job postings than women, given that the users have similar skills and qualifications. In this poster, I will closely examine why algorithms utilized for the job search process may present differently between men and women.

Tips For Success In Math Courses, Joshua Horowitz '22

Posters

Five steps in the development process for succeeding in mathematics.

Belonging In Math And How It’S Affected By Groupwork, Kara Mathes '22

Posters

Interactions in groups for class assignments are an important part of a student’s sense of belonging in mathematics and other academic disciplines. This sense of belonging has an impact on the student’s sense of self as well as their academic performance.

Cross-Sectoral Climate Change Modeling, Jeremy Gordon '22

Posters

Although climate data originates from various integrated sectors, it continues to be evaluated in isolation. By using cross-sectoral modeling, climate change modeling can more effectively represent data, and the possible consequences of misjudging future models.

Ranked Choice Voting: Who’S The Real Winner?, Brendan Magill '23

Posters

Ranked choice voting is a voting system in which voters rank candidates in order or preference. The winning candidate is determined by eliminating candidates and reassigning their votes until one has a majority. It provides solutions to some of the fundamental issues with traditional voting. But is it more fair? Should it be instituted in American democratic elections?

Racial Bias In Health Care Machine Learning Algorithms, Esther Akinpelu '22

Posters

Machine learning algorithms in healthcare are racially biased, especially when diagnosing patients and choosing candidates for care management programs.

Is U.S. News College Ranking A Weapon Of Math Destruction?, Zhipeng Kui '22

Posters

This poster presents Cathy O’Neil’s arguments from her book Weapons of Math Destruction and connects them with Columbia’s ongoing ranking scandal to show why we should view U.S. News college ranking as a WMD.

The Impossible Theorem Of Fairness, Man Nguyen '22

Posters

With the growth of machine learning, there has been an increase of machine biases that can cause wrongful discrimination. In the case of implementing “fairness,” several conceptions of bias were created to target a fair system. However, statisticians have found that these conceptions contradict one another. Thus, we run into an impossible conundrum of fairness in machine learning. In cases that high risk, we want to investigate the best fairness measures if one is possible. Moreover, we would like to determine when these fairness measures fail or what conditions must be met for them to succeed.

Accessible And Intuitive Mathematical Notation, Anthony Christiana '22

Posters

For math learners with disabilities, engagement with traditional mathematical notation can be difficult or impossible. Here, we explore two examples of the ways that notation can fail disabled students. We also note how accommodating for these disabilities allows us to imagine better ways of serving all students through notational practices.

Bias In Mortgage Approval Algorithms, Carter Steckbeck '22

Posters

In recent years, financial institutions are using machine learning algorithms for the mortgage approval process. Utilizing hundreds of complex variables, they decide whether an applicant gets approved. Recent studies have shown that people of color are disproportionately denied at higher rates for mortgages compared to White individuals.

The Effect Of Social Media On Polarization, John Burt '22

Posters

This poster attempts to look at the impact of social media on political polarization in the United States. Since the 2016 elections, there has been a shift in the political parties and their constituencies away from the center. Some have argued that a large part of this is due to the algorithms that social media use.

Experiential Learning In Mathematics, Lara Speer '23

Posters

The United States lags behind many other developed countries in math skills. The root of the problem lies not in mathematics itself, but in the way the United States approaches teaching math through memorization. One alternative pedagogical method to memorization is experiential learning, which is the process during which students acquire new knowledge through experience and is meant to reflect the way people learn in the real world.

Ethical Use Of Machine Learning In Higher Education Admission, Siqi Fang '23

Posters

A machine learning model called GRADE was used for PhD admission at UT Austin from the year 2013-2020. The model was trained a small set of past admission decisions which are already bias and was used immediately without further tuning or human validation. The model will score all applicants and the decision is made without further human assessment for applicants with the highest and lowest score. Only 362/588 full human reviews are conducted with a few people admitted and the majority of the rest being rejected by algorithm.

How Does Fico Score Discriminates People?, Stephana Lim '22

Posters

The FICO Score, the standard credit score, is used as a weapon of mathematical destruction as its algorithm creates a systematic discrimination against a disadvantaged racial group.

Mathematical Reasoning: Writing And Proof (Pretext Edition), Ted Sundstrom

Open Textbooks

Mathematical Reasoning: Writing and Proof is a text for the first college mathematics course that introduces students to the processes of constructing and writing proofs and focuses on the formal development of mathematics.

Mathematical Reasoning: Writing and Proof (PreTeXt Edition) was developed as part of the Accelerating Open Educational Resources Initiative at Grand Valley State University, with support from the University Libraries and the President's Innovation Fund.

Mathematical Reasoning: Writing and Proof was written by Ted Sundstrom, Professor Emeritus of Mathematics at Grand Valley State University. This textbook was converted into PreTeXt by Ian Curtis, Editorial Assistant for the …

Squigonometry, Andrew Hatfield, Riley Klette, Christopher Moore, Beth Warden

Mathematics

Trigonometry is the study of circular functions - functions defined on the unit circle where distances are measured with respect to the Euclidean norm. In our research, we develop a parallel theory of trigonometric and inverse trigonometric functions for the p-norm. This is called squigonometry because the resulting functions are defined on a squircle. This approach leads to new transcendental periods, formulas, and identities. It also extends to exponential, hyperbolic, and logarithmic functions in the p-norm.

Examining Middle School Students' Methods Of Justification, Leslie Reyes- Hernandez

Mathematics

Researching students’ thinking is imperative to improving the education system throughout the world. From extensive research, it is noted that students are unaccustomed and struggle with providing valid mathematical justifications (e.g. Inglis & Alcock 2012). The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM, 2000) and Common Core State Standards of Mathematics (CCSSM, 2010) suggest that students should have several opportunities to construct mathematical arguments across all grade levels. To take a closer look at this educational phenomenon, we prompt fifth to eighth-grade students with nine mathematical tasks. Within our research, we focus on tasks based on number properties, algebraic thinking, …

Abstract Algebra: Theory And Applications, Thomas W. Judson

eBooks

Tom Judson's Abstract Algebra: Theory and Applications is an open source textbook designed to teach the principles and theory of abstract algebra to college juniors and seniors in a rigorous manner. Its strengths include a wide range of exercises, both computational and theoretical, plus many nontrivial applications. Rob Beezer has contributed complementary material using the open source system, Sage.

An HTML version on the PreText platform is available here.

The first half of the book presents group theory, through the Sylow theorems, with enough material for a semester-long course. The second-half is suitable for a second semester and …

Math Active Learning Lab: Math 107 Precalculus Notebook, Gwennie Byron, Department Of Mathematics, University Of North Dakota

Open Educational Resources

This course notebook has been designed for students of Math 107 (Precalculus) at the University of North Dakota. It has been designed to help you get the most out of the ALEKS resources and your time.

• Topics in the Notebook are organized by weekly learning module.
• Space for notes from ALEKS learning pages, e-book and videos directs you to essential concepts.
• Examples and “You Try It” problems have been carefully chosen to help you focus on these essential concepts.
• Completed Notebook is an invaluable tool when studying for exams.

Math Active Learning Lab: Math 98 Notebook, Gwennie Byron, Michele Iiams, Department Of Mathematics, University Of North Dakota

Open Educational Resources

This course notebook has been designed for students of Math 98 (Intermediate Algebra) at the University of North Dakota. It has been designed to help you get the most out of the ALEKS resources and your time.

• Topics in the Notebook are organized by weekly learning module.
• Space for notes from ALEKS learning pages, e-book and videos directs you to essential concepts.
• Examples and “You Try It” problems have been carefully chosen to help you focus on these essential concepts.
• Completed Notebook is an invaluable tool when studying for exams.

The Mathematics Behind Illusion, Kouassi Adou

All Zyzzogeton Presentations

Historically, research on optical, or visual illusions has belonged mainly to the field of psychology. However, in the 1980s, Professor Kokichi Sugihara, Meiji University, Japan, introduced a mathematical approach to design and classify 3-dimensional optical illusions. This presentation provides a sample of the mathematics behind some types of visual illusions.

Beginning Algebra Made Useful, Charlene E. Beckmann

Open Textbooks

Beginning Algebra Made Useful addresses the needs of learners to make sense of algebra by quantifying and generalizing everyday occurrences such as commuting to work, buying gas or pizza, and determining the better deal. It requires learners to actively engage with algebraic concepts through physical and thought experiments in ways that help them connect ideas, representations, and contexts, and solve problems that arise in their daily lives. The text helps learners grow their brains and develop growth mindsets as they learn algebra conceptually. Problem sets continue the process, extending work begun in each lesson, applying new understandings to new contexts, …

Mathematical Modeling (Fvsu), Samuel Cartwright, Bhavana Burell

Mathematics Grants Collections

This Grants Collection for Mathematical Modeling was created under a Round Thirteen ALG Textbook Transformation Grant.

Affordable Learning Georgia Grants Collections are intended to provide faculty with the frameworks to quickly implement or revise the same materials as a Textbook Transformation Grants team, along with the aims and lessons learned from project teams during the implementation process.

Each collection contains the following materials:

• Linked Syllabus
• Initial Proposal
• Final Report

A Self-Contained Course In The Mathematical Theory Of Statistics For Scientists & Engineers With An Emphasis On Predictive Regression Modeling & Financial Applications., Tim Smith

Open Access Textbooks

Preface & Acknowledgments

This textbook is designed for a higher level undergraduate, perhaps even first year graduate, course for engineering or science students who are interested to gain knowledge of using data analysis to make predictive models. While there is no statistical perquisite knowledge required to read this book, due to the fact that the study is designed for the reader to truly understand the underlying theory rather than just learn how to read computer output, it would be best read with some familiarity of elementary statistics. The book is self-contained and the only true perquisite knowledge is a solid …